


yellow

by m_barcelona



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Gen, Hawaiian Hunk (Voltron), Homesickness, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Hunk (Voltron)-centric, POV Hunk (Voltron), hunkarc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 09:56:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13995795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_barcelona/pseuds/m_barcelona
Summary: “I, um…I don’t really know what to say here. I guess I should start at the beginning.”Hunk clears his throat and looks away from the blinking red dot of the camera, suddenly feeling trapped by its unnerving stare. This is going to be harder than he thought.Hunk decides to send a video message home to his family, and discovers a lot about himself in the process.





	yellow

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! I decided to take a quick break from my [klance wip](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12745047/chapters/29069301) to add something to the #hunkarc tag today. Hunk deserves way more love than he's getting, my friends

“I, um…I don’t really know what to say here. I guess I should start at the beginning.” 

Hunk clears his throat and looks away from the blinking red dot of the camera, suddenly feeling trapped by its unnerving stare. This is going to be harder than he thought. 

It had been his idea to make these videos to send home with Sam Holt. He had spent hours rummaging through the old Altean tech, trying to find something that he could use to make a video that would be compatible with Earth technology. This may be their only chance to get messages home, and he wanted to be prepared for anything. 

Seeing Pidge reunite with her family had sparked something within Hunk. Happiness, of course, was his first reaction. He had teared up when Pidge first brought Matt to the castle, overwhelmed by the pure joy that was so plain to see on his friend’s face. Pidge had toted her brother around so proudly, refusing to let go of his hand for hours. Hunk’s heart had felt bigger than it had in months, feeling as if it could burst from secondhand happiness. 

But there was also…something else. It’s not a feeling he wants to acknowledge, but it follows him with as much persistence as his shadow. It nags at him, tugging at his heart and weighing down his smile. 

_Jealousy._

It hurt to see Pidge cheerfully drag her brother all over the ship, proudly displaying all of her accomplishments to him. Hunk felt a pang in his heart every time Matt smiled fondly at his little sister, and then felt even worse for his unfaithful feelings. That day was the most homesick Hunk had felt since leaving Earth. 

Hunk wishes more than anything that he could have that same reunion with his family. That he could take them by the hand, gently, and walk them through everything he has done since he disappeared nearly a year ago. He wishes he could sit down with them and talk them through all of it, assuring them face-to-face that he’s okay. But his mother and father are still on Earth, and he doesn’t know if he’ll ever make it home to them. 

He knows that he isn’t the only one who misses his family. Lance puts on a strong façade, but he has come to Hunk’s room seeking comfort more times than either can count. The two of them have stayed awake late into the night, trading stories of the family they left behind, and wishing desperately that they could tell their parents that they loved them one final time. 

Hunk lets out a huff of air, forcing his eyes back to the camera. “I-I don’t know what the Garrison told you. They probably said I ran away or went missing or died, but none of those things are true.” He furrows his brow for a moment, wondering how to best approach this. “Actually, that’s not true,” he admits. “I guess I kinda did run away. But I swear I didn’t do it on purpose. I had no idea what I was getting into when I got out of bed that night. 

“You’re probably going to have a hard time believing what I’m going to tell you, but please hear me out,” Hunk pleads, picturing worry lines creasing his mother’s forehead and a deep frown tugging on his father’s lips. “I’m in space right now. Like, deep space. Farther away from Earth than I ever knew was possible. I mean, I guess I technically knew it was possible, like, in theory or whatever. But I never thought I would see it for myself.” 

He stops himself from going too in-depth into an explanation about the vastness of the universe. Hunk’s family has never been as interested in space as he is: his mother is a botanist, with her feet firmly planted in the soil beneath her; his father is a novelist, with his mind reaching only as far as the sky. 

No matter how hard they tried, they could never truly understand their son who dreamed of the cosmos but feared ever leaving the ground. 

He struggles to find the words he needs to explain his situation without overwhelming them completely. His parents are incredibly intelligent people, but his reality requires much more than intelligence to fully comprehend. 

_Start at the beginning,_ he reminds himself. 

“It started with a totally normal day, really. Lance wanted to sneak out one night for some team bonding, and–,” he cuts himself off abruptly, picturing his mother’s reaction to hearing that her well-behaved son was planning to sneak out. Hunk has never stepped a single toe out of line, as far as his parents know, and he realizes suddenly just how shocking his story is going to be to them. 

He clears his throat and rushes on hurriedly, brushing the thought from his mind. “Anyway, we, uh, were wandering the hallways, on the way to our teammate Pidge’s room, when we saw Pidge sneaking out. Which was crazy because, you know, Pidge was always super quiet and boring. Like, I swear the only thing she ever cared about at the Garrison was getting good grades. Oh, yeah, and Pidge is a girl,” he adds as an afterthought, remembering that even this detail will come as a surprise to his family. 

Hunk pauses at this, marveling at how much things have changed since the last time he was on Earth. It feels like lifetimes ago when he stood beside Lance at the bulletin board, getting the news that he would finally be an engineer. If someone had told him then that he would be travelling the stars and fighting aliens with his best friend, he would have never believed it. Lance had always been certain that he would one day get to leave Earth and explore the universe, but Hunk had never felt so sure. 

“It’s weird to think about,” Hunk says, articulating his thoughts before fully realizing them himself. “Looking back, I never would have known where I would end up. Like, I barely knew Pidge at all when we left. I thought she was just this kid who was a little stuck-up and too smart for her own good. Now she’s one of my closest friends in the entire universe. And Lance! He’s here, too. I don’t know if I could have survived this long without him. Things are way different between us than they used to be, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. He’s still my best friend, but he seems so much more real to me now, you know? He used to be my goofball best friend who was always flirting with girls and acting super cool, and I guess he still does those things, but…things change between people when you risk your lives for each other. You see a whole different side of people that you never knew was there. 

“Wait – sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself,” Hunk says, shaking himself out of that train of thought. He definitely should have left out the part about risking his life. The last thing he needs is for his family to worry about him more than they surely already are. 

“Where was I? Oh, yeah. Pidge was sneaking out, so we decided to follow to see where she was going. It turns out she had been doing some weird experiment on the roof of the Garrison, picking up on alien frequencies and stuff. And then – oh man. Do you remember Shiro? Takashi Shirogane,” he amends, realizing that his family won’t recognize the nickname. “The pilot who supposedly died on the Kerberos mission? He didn’t actually die! When we were up on that roof, we saw something come down and crash into the desert, so obviously we followed it. I mean, I didn’t really want to, personally, but things would have turned out very differently if I had just gone back to bed like I wanted to.” 

It’s a fond memory, actually, but strange to think back on. They knew so little of what they were getting into when they rushed into the desert to chase the fallen ship. Would he have gone through with it, if he had known where it would lead him? 

“It was crazy,” Hunk continues, recalling that night. “Keith Kogane was there. Do you remember him? I’m sure I told you guys about him. He used to be the top pilot at the Garrison, but then he totally snapped when the Kerberos mission failed. He punched Commander Iverson in the face and got himself kicked out.” Hunk chuckles fondly at this, recalling the simple days when Keith’s outburst was the most excitement Hunk had gotten in months. It had been the most exciting gossip in the Garrison for weeks on end. “Well, apparently he had been living in the desert, following some weird energy that he was sensing. We all went to his creepy conspiracy-theory shack after saving Shiro, and it turns out that thing that Keith was following was the same thing that Pidge was hearing about in her late-night trips to the roof. 

“And, well…this is where it really starts to get crazy. The Kerberos mission didn’t fail due to pilot error, you guys. They were attacked by _aliens_. They’re called the Galra, and that’s who we’re fighting out here.” 

He winces slightly at his blunt word choice, realizing too late that he hasn’t yet explained the whole _fighting_ thing. But he knows he cannot back out now. His family deserves to know the truth, no matter how hard it may be for them to hear. 

Hunk takes a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what comes next. 

Before he has a chance to change his mind, he launches into the rest of the explanation. He describes the first time he saw the Blue Lion, and the gut-wrenching feeling of the wormhole. He describes the castleship, and the Alteans they found within. He explains everything, trying his best to make himself clear without leaving out any vital details. 

If he doesn’t make it home, he wants his family to know the whole truth. He doesn’t want to die without having the chance to tell them his story. 

He cuts off abruptly at the thought, stopping his explanation in the middle of a sentence. 

It’s something they’ve all thought about: the possibility of dying out here, millions of light years away from home. It’s something Hunk thinks about every time he gets into his lion, far too aware that his seventeen years of life have done nothing to prepare him for the fight he has ahead of him. Every battle could be his last, cutting his life short when it has barely even begun. 

He doesn’t want to die. 

“I…I know you want me home,” he says, abandoning the end of his story in favor of expressing the thoughts that have followed him since he first stepped foot into his lion. “I really do. And I wish more than anything that I could hop through a wormhole and be home for dinner.” 

Hunk feels his homesickness welling up within him, threatening to choke him with its force. “I miss you, Mom. I miss you, Dad. I miss our house and our yard and our town and the beach. I miss living somewhere with a blue sky and a warm sun that rises and sets at normal times. I miss the sound of the waves and the birds and the annoying kids who lived down the street. I miss the Garrison, even. I want to come home.” He takes a deep breath, trying to steady his shaking voice. “But…I can’t. Not yet.” 

_Yet._ It feels like a lie, but he cannot bear to tell the truth. 

“I never thought I would be able to do something like this. I’m saving lives, Mom and Dad. Entire planets. Entire _galaxies._ I never thought I would be important. I never thought I would do anything meaningful. I was always afraid that I would live my entire life as an engineer for some hot-shot pilot, and never have the chance to do something worth remembering. But here I am. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I have the power to save the universe, and I can’t throw that away.” 

He takes in a shaky breath, and catches sight of his own image on the screen in front of him. 

He doesn’t see a paladin of Voltron. He doesn’t see a powerful, fearsome warrior. He sees a teenager, afraid and lost in space, wanting just to go home and curl up on his mother’s lap. 

He wipes away the dampness on his cheeks. 

“I used to think I wasn’t good enough to be here. There I was, deep in space, being told that I’m supposed to be some _defender of the universe_. It seemed so wrong. I’m just an engineer, you know? I could hardly sit in a moving ship without feeling sick. How was I expected to stand alongside all these incredible pilots and save the whole universe? 

“But now…things are different. I don’t know. I’m not perfect, I know that. I’m smart, but I’m not as smart as Pidge. I’m strong, but not as strong as Shiro. I would do anything to protect my team, but I wasn’t there when Lance and Keith and Allura all tried to sacrifice themselves for us. And, yeah, sometimes I wish I could be more. But…I’m enough. I know I am. Voltron is a team, and I’m just as worthy as Shiro and Lance and everyone else. I’m so proud of what we’re doing here, and I hope that you can be, too.” 

There are things he cannot tell them. He can’t tell them about the absolute terror he feels every time he goes into battle. He can’t tell them about the nightmares he has, waking him up in a cold sweat nearly every night. He can’t tell them about the grief he feels, deep in his gut, when he thinks of what could happen to his teammates every time they leave this ship. He can’t tell them about his scars, and the wounds that may never heal. 

He shakes himself out of these thoughts, determined to end his message on a good note. 

“I’m…I’m glad that I’m here. I’m working with the best people in the whole universe, and I know that we’re going to win this war. We’ve already freed a third of the Galra empire. Do you know how big the Galra empire is? It’s _giant_. Or, at least, it was giant, until we reclaimed an entire third of it. We’ve saved more lives than I can even begin to comprehend. Zarkon, the emperor who has ruled for the past ten thousand years, is dead. Things are really looking up, and I can’t turn my back on them now. 

“I love you, Mom and Dad. I love you, Aunt Makani. I love you, Uncle Kai. I love you, old lady from the grocery store and weird kid from the corner café. I love you, Earth.” 

Hunk knows that his video is coming to an end, and he begins to panic. _What if I left something out? What if I forgot something important?_ He feels like he’s running out of time, as if his last chance to speak to his parents is slipping through his fingers. 

He shakes his head, clearing away the scattered thoughts. It doesn’t matter if he forgot something, he reminds himself, because there is one thing that he will make sure of. 

He steadies himself, and allows himself a heavy moment of silence before looking into the camera to make his final point. 

“I’m coming home, guys. I don’t know when, or how, or for how long. But I will see you again. I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to follow my tumblr: [@hunky-garrett](https://hunky-garrett.tumblr.com/)
> 
> thanks for reading!


End file.
